Wenceslaus II of Bohemia

Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (27 September 1271-21 June 1305), also known as Vaclav I of Poland, was King of Bohemia from 1278 to 1305, succeeding Ottokar II of Bohemia and preceding Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, and King of Poland from 1300 to 1305, succeeding Przemysl II of Poland and preceding Wenceslaus III.

Biography
Wenceslaus was born on 27 September 1271, the son of King Ottokar II of Bohemia and Kunigunda of Slavonia. In 1276, Rudolf I of Germany forced his father to give up all claims to Austria and the neighboring duchies, and Ottokar married Wenceslaus to Rudolf's daughter Judith of Habsburg; however, the peace would not last, and his father was killed in the Battle on the Marchfeld in 1278 while fighting against the Holy Roman Empire. Wenceslaus' stepfather Zavis of Falkenstejn served as regent until Wenceslaus had him executed for treason in 1290, and he began to rule independently. In 1291, King Przemysl II of Poland granted Wenceslaus the Duchy of Krakow, and in 1300 he was crowned King of Poland after Przemysl died. That same year, he issued the Prague groschen, the new currency of Bohemia, following the discovery of silver at Kutna Hora in central Bohemia. In 1301, the death of his relative Andrew III of Hungary led to the extinction of the House of Arpad, so Wenceslaus claimed the throne for his son (the future Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, who took on the name "Ladislaus V" before being crowned on 27 August 1301. However, he was unpopular among the divided principalities, being recognized as king only in the Hungarian lands in what is now Slovakia. However, his rival Charles Robert of Anjou was supported by the nobles, and the young Wenceslaus of Hungary asked his father for help. Wenceslaus II sent an army from Prague to invade Hungary, and they took the Hungarian crown back to Prague with them. Wenceslaus died in 1305 of tuberculosis at the age of 33, and his son Wenceslaus III succeeded him.